I have been making bread for years. Do I need a Proofer?
Home bakers are often disadvantaged because they lack a well-controlled fermenting and proofing environment. Most bakers understand that great bread requires quality ingredients. However, even with the best ingredients, homemade bread often lacks flavor, texture, and is uninteresting in every sense. This is because bakers are missing the one ingredient they need most: Time at the right temperature. The single step that differentiates great bread from mediocre bread is giving the dough a chance to ferment slowly at the ideal temperature. The Proofer allows you to create the best texture and taste in homemade bread with repeatable and consistent results.
What is the difference between the Proofer and a bread machine?
The Folding Proofer is not a bread machine. It is a proofing environment for the fermenting and rising of yeast dough. It eliminates the troublesome temperature and humidity variables that have made it difficult for all bakers–beginners and professionals who bake bread at home. With the Folding Proofer, there is no longer a difficulty finding that “warm, draft free place” in your home for dough to rise. The Proofer makes it possible to bake bread at home with predictable, excellent results. Compared to a loaf made in a bread machine, you will find hand-made bread has improved texture and taste. You still mix your own dough and for some breads knead by hand or with a mixer. You may use your own pans or bake free-form loaves in traditional shapes. Higher-quality, more delicious loaves are made with a temperature-controlled proofing environment and baking in a separate pre-heated oven.
Can the Proofer run for more than a few hours at a time?
Yes, the Proofer has been tested and approved for unattended operation and may be run continuously. It uses very little electricity, only about 0.03 kwh per hour when set at 75 °F / 24 °C.
What temperature setting is optimum for different types of bread?
There is a range of temperatures that work well for bread dough, and if the recipe or book you are using specifies a temperature, consider using that setting.
- Sourdough works well fermenting at a temperature of 80-86 F/ 27-30 C in order to give the wild yeast a boost.
- Commercial yeast is more vigorous, so dough made with it benefits from a lower temperature that promotes flavor development, 75-79 F / 24-26 C.
- Sweet doughs and croissants often contain butter and do best when temperatures are kept below the melting point of butter. We recommend 80 F / 27 C or lower for these doughs.
- Rye flour has weaker gluten and higher enzyme activity. Higher Proofer temperatures are appropriate (80-86 F / 27-30 C) to shorten fermentation time and keep the enzymes from degrading the dough too quickly.
- Cold dough that has been retarded in the refrigerator often needs an extra hour (or more per pound / 500g of dough) added to its rising time, to allow the dough to come up to temperature. Ideally, frozen dough should be thawed in the refrigerator before proofing.
Why isn’t the air temperature inside my Proofer the same as the setting?
The Proofer is calibrated to keep the contents of a jar or bowl at the designated temperature setting, not the air inside. Measuring the air temperature in the proofer with a thermometer will not indicate the temperature of food in a container.
This is because the Proofer heats mainly by radiative heating directly from the aluminum heating plate in the base to the food containers. The air temperature inside the Proofer will become warm, but will not be the same as the temperature of food inside containers. In Proofer mode, items should always be placed on a rack.
There are two important factors that affect the temperature of food in the Proofer:
- Covering a container will raise the temperature of the food inside the container
- Adding water to the tray to create humidity will raise the temperature of food in the container.
The Proofer has been calibrated in two ways:
- Humid (with water tray): 70-95 °F / 21-35 °C. Use open containers. Bread dough and preferment in open bowls, loaf, or sheet pans.
- Dry (no water tray): 70 -120 °F / 21 – 49 °C. Use closed containers. Commonly used for culturing yogurt. If the Proofer is used in dry mode at 70-95 °F / 21-35 °C food temperatures may be several degrees below the setpoint.
Should I cover my bread dough?
Most dough and shaped loaves do not need to be covered while in the Proofer because the water tray will provide ideal humidity to keep the dough from forming a skin. All bread recipes on the Brod & Taylor website are developed with temperature settings for uncovered dough. If the dough is covered you may find an increased dough temperature of 2-5 degrees depending on the length of time the dough is in the Proofer. However, if using the Proofer for an extended fermentation, such as an overnight pre-ferment at a low temperature, it may be safest to cover the bowl or container.
What is the difference between fermenting and proofing?
Fermenting is where the flavors are created and takes much longer than the proofing stage. Fermentation begins when yeast (instant or natural air-borne) is introduced to flour and water. The pre-ferment is a controlled aging process that allows the yeasts to eat at will since there are so few of them at first.
Proofing is the final gas production that aerates the dough so it isn’t dense and gummy. Proofing is still fermenting. Sometimes called the final ferment. A single bread dough loaf is bulk fermented after mixing and kneading. After it is shaped it is called proofing or the “final ferment”.
My Proofer doesn’t seem to be getting warm enough – is it working properly?
If your Proofer is set to a cooler temp 75 °F / 24 °C, it may not feel very warm to the touch even when it is working properly. To speed rising, set it to 85-90 °F / 29-32 °C. If you have been rising bread in an oven or other area that is quite warm, you may need to set the Proofer temperature higher to obtain similar results. However, the best flavors in bread are usually obtained when the dough is given enough time to rise slowly.
My Proofer doesn’t seem to be getting too warm – is it working properly?
For the best heat circulation and most accurate culturing temperature, avoid placing jars or containers directly in the center of the Proofer. The Proofer will fit eight one quart (1 liter) mason jars without the need to place a jar in the center.
For cultures or fermentations that require extended times (>12 hours) more stable results may be achieved in the Slow Cook mode, which may be set as low as 85 °F / 30 °C. Jars or other containers of food can be placed inside a larger flat bottom container (such as a stock pot or aluminum roast pan) and covered with a lid or foil and placed directly on the heating plate. Choose Slow Cook with the Mode button and set the desired temperature.
Can household ovens with a low temperature setting be used to proof?
1. Low temperature ovens do not control and hold at the single degree-by-degree temperature level.
2. Low temperature ovens do not have proper humidity control The lowest temperature on a low temperature oven can not maintain the very low range of temperatures starting at 70F – 21C temperature.
3.Our Proofer is calibrated by engineers to maintain the internal food temperature of the bread dough, yogurt culture, or whatever food is being made in the Proofer. A low temperature oven is set for the air inside the oven, not the ingredients a person is making. The recipes developed by Brod & Taylor have been successfully tested at the specific temperature settings indicated on each recipe.
Does the Proofer have a thermostat?
Yes, there is a thermostat located in the base of the Proofer. The heating element cycles on and off according to the temperature of the aluminum plate. This cycling on and off occurs within a very narrow range, making the Proofer very accurate and reliable at maintaining a steady temperature.
Will the Proofer work in any environment?
The Proofer has been calibrated for a room temperature of 65 – 70 °F / 18 – 21 °C. The Proofer is only designed to warm its contents, not cool. If the room temperature is above the set point, the Proofer cannot be cooler. If the ambient is very cold – lower than 55 °F / 13 °C, the temperature setting may need to be adjusted a few degrees higher to achieve the desired result.
The lid will not shut when folding the Proofer.
1.Make sure the folding sides are collapsed correctly and attached to the hinge at the inside back of the base.
2. Ensure the small plastic cross guides are visible on the top.
3. Place the wire rack with feet UP so it is secured by the cross guides.
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